# What were your other favorite "Straight Dope" type books? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 18, 2018, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-other-favorite-straight-dope-type-books/821548 "2018-09-18T18:36:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-other-favorite-straight-dope-type-books/821548/1 "2018-09-18T18:36:58Z")
I have always loved trivia type books. As a kid I read and reread the Book of Lists books until they fell apart. I was a big fan of the Imponderables Books (I even got my name in one and got a letter back from the author once). The three Why Things Are books were also books I read over and over. What were your favorites? ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-other-favorite-straight-dope-type-books/821548/2 "2018-09-18T18:40:05Z")
Guinness Book of World Records was a fave. But before that was a household encyclopedia set. Thank you, World Book. I don’t think I’d have ever left my room as a kid, if I had something like wiki or the Internet as a whole, to amuse me. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-other-favorite-straight-dope-type-books/821548/3 "2018-09-18T18:42:03Z")
The Book of Misinformation was a paperback published in the mid or late ‘70s; I still have my copy. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-other-favorite-straight-dope-type-books/821548/4 "2018-09-18T19:01:22Z")
_Big Secrets_ and _Bigger Secrets_ by William Poundstone. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-other-favorite-straight-dope-type-books/821548/5 "2018-09-18T19:06:23Z")
It’s not really trivia, but [_What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions_](https://www.amazon.com/What-If-Scientific-Hypothetical-Questions/dp/0544272994/) by XKCD’s Randall Munroe is very Dope-like with rigorous science applied to outlandish and humorous questions. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-other-favorite-straight-dope-type-books/821548/6 "2018-09-18T19:06:39Z")
First and foremost, the works of Bergen Evans, the Proto-Cecil – **On the Spoor of Spooks** and **The Natural History of Nonsense**. I’ll also second **Czarcasm** ’s William Poundstone books, and add the third he unaccountably left off, \*\* Biggest Secrets\*\* For debunking, I recommend the works of Harry Houdini (Yes!), James Randi, and the publications of PSI, the former CSICOP. For UFOs, read the books of Donald Menzel, Phillip Klass, James Obserg, and others. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-other-favorite-straight-dope-type-books/821548/7 "2018-09-18T19:08:25Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I’ll also second **Czarcasm** ’s William Poundstone books, and add the third he unaccountably left off, \*\* Biggest Secrets\*\* It was supposed to be a _secret!_ ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-other-favorite-straight-dope-type-books/821548/8 "2018-09-18T19:14:13Z")
I loved the [Tell My Why books](https://www.amazon.com/Tell-Why-More-Still-Set/dp/B001QVKYSA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1537297754&sr=8-3&keywords=tell+me+why+books) when I was a kid. I think they’re still around. As an adult, [The News of the Weird](https://www.amazon.com/News-Weird-Plume-Chuck-Shepherd/dp/0452263115/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1537297965&sr=8-3&keywords=news+of+the+weird&dpID=51W23V4XPML&preST=_SY344_BO1,204,203,200_QL70_&dpSrc=srch) was (and is, [in its Internet form](https://www.uexpress.com/news-of-the-weird/about)) a favorite. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-other-favorite-straight-dope-type-books/821548/9 "2018-09-18T19:19:25Z")
Would Jan Harold Brunvand’s urban legend collections count? (The Vanishing Hitchhiker, The Mexican Pet, etc.) Those were always entertaining to read. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-other-favorite-straight-dope-type-books/821548/10 "2018-09-18T19:22:18Z")
[_Uncle John’s Bathroom Readers_.](https://www.bathroomreader.com/interesting-articles-and-trivia) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-other-favorite-straight-dope-type-books/821548/11 "2018-09-18T19:30:17Z")
I have the first Imponderables book by David Feldman. > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > The Book of Misinformation was a paperback published in the mid or late ‘70s; I still have my copy. As do I, somewhere. > [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > Guinness Book of World Records was a fave. But before that was a household encyclopedia set. Thank you, World Book. Likewise, on both accounts. The current incarnation is a pale imitation of what it was during the Seventies & Eighties (I had a 1975 and a 1980). ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-other-favorite-straight-dope-type-books/821548/12 "2018-09-18T19:41:47Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > I have the first Imponderables book by David Feldman. As do I, somewhere.Likewise, on both accounts. The current incarnation is a pale imitation of what it was during the Seventies & Eighties (I had a 1975 and a 1980). That sounds about right—mine dealt with the Apollo program, at least the landing on the Moon—and I think the start of Voyager, but not much after that. Grandparents had an older, 1960s-ish version. Syntax was quite a bit behind the Britannica, but it served to give me a life-long love of learning new things. Which is one of the reasons I stay here. I haven’t had the heart to read newer versions. The thing about the Guinness Book was that it would bring up some of the most random records, and observations, that’d make you think, “That’s weird, what’s the rest of the story?” Like the high dive records, that mentioned, as an aside, that some guy jumped from a zeppelin into the Bodensee from about twice the height of the cliff divers that took up most of the entry. There were a bunch of random tidbits like that. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-other-favorite-straight-dope-type-books/821548/13 "2018-09-18T19:42:52Z")
My husband and I are fans of the _Don’t Know Much About…_ series of books. We have _Don’t Know Much About History_, _Don’t Know Much About The Bible_, _Don’t Know Much About The Presidents_, and a few more. They’re always well written and a quick read. We like to bring them with on road trips because he can read a section and we can talk about it. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-other-favorite-straight-dope-type-books/821548/14 "2018-09-18T19:48:58Z")
In Junior High and High School, the Guinness Book of World Records was fun to peruse. In 1978 when my best friend was in the hospital for surgery, he asked for the Book of Lists and I got it for him. I’d never heard it before. As a kid in elementary school, I loved browsing through the encyclopedia and reading one topic, which then connected to another topic so I’d look up that, and so on. These days Wikipedia makes that easy. I believe in Wikipedia and their mission and donate to them. As for the Trivia Games in the Thread Games sub-forum, I’m having a lot of fun with that. Sure a lot of it is copying and pasting, but some of it is from memory, and looking things up remains fun. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-other-favorite-straight-dope-type-books/821548/15 "2018-09-18T19:49:54Z")
Reader’s Digest has published some good ones over the years: _Strange Stories, Amazing Facts: Stories That are Bizarre, Unusual, Odd, Astonishing, and Often Incredible_ [https://www.amazon.com/Strange-Stories-Amazing-Facts-Astonishing/dp/0895770288/ref=sr\_1\_13?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1471394734&sr=1-13&refinements=p\_27%3AReader%27s+Digest](https://www.amazon.com/Strange-Stories-Amazing-Facts-Astonishing/dp/0895770288/ref=sr_1_13?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1471394734&sr=1-13&refinements=p_27%3AReader%27s+Digest) _Mysteries of the Unexplained_ > **[Mysteries of the Unexplained: How Ordinary Men and Women Have Experienced the...](https://www.amazon.com/Mysteries-Unexplained-Readers-Digest/dp/0276380037)** > > Mysteries of the Unexplained: How Ordinary Men and Women Have Experienced the Strange, the Uncanny, and the Incredible \[Reader's Digest\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Mysteries of the Unexplained: How Ordinary Men and Women... _North American Wildlife_ > **[North American Wildlife (revised and updated): Reader's Digest: 9780762100200:...](https://www.amazon.com/North-American-Wildlife-revised-updated/dp/0762100206)** > > Buy North American Wildlife (revised and updated) on Amazon.com ✓ FREE SHIPPING on qualified orders I’d also recommend The Ripley’s Believe it Or Not series. Here’s a good one to start: _Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Encyclopedia of the Bizarre: Amazing, Strange, Inexplicable, Weird and All True!_ > **[Ripley's Believe It or Not! Encyclopedia of the Bizarre: Amazing, Strange,...](https://www.amazon.com/Ripleys-Believe-Not-Encyclopedia-Bizarre/dp/1579124828)** > > Ripley's Believe It or Not! Encyclopedia of the Bizarre: Amazing, Strange, Inexplicable, Weird and All True! \[Editors of Ripley's Believe It or Not, Mooney, Julie\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Ripley's Believe It or Not!... ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-other-favorite-straight-dope-type-books/821548/16 "2018-09-18T19:51:53Z")
By Martin Gardner > **[Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fads_and_Fallacies_in_the_Name_of_Science)** > > Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science (1957)—originally published in 1952 as In the Name of Science: An Entertaining Survey of the High Priests and Cultists of Science, Past and Present—was Martin Gardner's second book. A survey of what it described as pseudosciences and cult beliefs, it became a founding document in the nascent scientific skepticism movement. Michael Shermer said of it: "Modern skepticism has developed into a science-based movement, beginning with Martin Gardner's 1 The book... ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-other-favorite-straight-dope-type-books/821548/17 "2018-09-18T19:52:41Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > First and foremost, the works of Bergen Evans, the Proto-Cecil – **On the Spoor of Spooks** and **The Natural History of Nonsense**. > > I’ll also second **Czarcasm** ’s William Poundstone books, and add the third he unaccountably left off, \*\* Biggest Secrets\*\* > For debunking, I recommend the works of Harry Houdini (Yes!), James Randi, and the publications of PSI, the former CSICOP. For UFOs, read the books of Donald Menzel, Phillip Klass, James Obserg, and others. One of best debunking books is Martin Gardner’s _Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science_. (Beaten by Dropo.) ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-other-favorite-straight-dope-type-books/821548/18 "2018-09-18T20:07:22Z")
Some previously mentioned, and some new worth listing: Information Please Almanac - sometimes raw data is the best source of information Guinness Book of World Records - I’ve read it cover to cover (skimming the sports chapter) during long bus rides in junior high (back when Dean Martin was the highest paid TV star) Jan Brunvand’s urban legends books, the pre-internet version of Snopes. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-other-favorite-straight-dope-type-books/821548/19 "2018-09-18T20:13:43Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > Reader’s Digest has published some good ones over the years: > > _Strange Stories, Amazing Facts: Stories That are Bizarre, Unusual, Odd, Astonishing, and Often Incredible_ > [https://www.amazon.com/Strange-Stories-Amazing-Facts-Astonishing/dp/0895770288/ref=sr\_1\_13?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1471394734&sr=1-13&refinements=p\_27%3AReader%27s+Digest](https://www.amazon.com/Strange-Stories-Amazing-Facts-Astonishing/dp/0895770288/ref=sr_1_13?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1471394734&sr=1-13&refinements=p_27%3AReader%27s+Digest) > > _Mysteries of the Unexplained_ > [https://www.amazon.com/Mysteries-Unexplained-Readers-Digest/dp/0276380037/ref=pd\_sim\_14\_5?\_encoding=UTF8&pd\_rd\_i=0276380037&pd\_rd\_r=85752ab5-bb7b-11e8-bec8-475d0372adf1&pd\_rd\_w=gTkCr&pd\_rd\_wg=ED6aK&pf\_rd\_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf\_rd\_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf\_rd\_p=18bb0b78-4200-49b9-ac91-f141d61a1780&pf\_rd\_r=W2G18NQQYFERZ4AJ6SZG&pf\_rd\_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf\_rd\_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=W2G18NQQYFERZ4AJ6SZG](https://www.amazon.com/Mysteries-Unexplained-Readers-Digest/dp/0276380037/ref=pd_sim_14_5?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0276380037&pd_rd_r=85752ab5-bb7b-11e8-bec8-475d0372adf1&pd_rd_w=gTkCr&pd_rd_wg=ED6aK&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=18bb0b78-4200-49b9-ac91-f141d61a1780&pf_rd_r=W2G18NQQYFERZ4AJ6SZG&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=W2G18NQQYFERZ4AJ6SZG) > > _North American Wildlife_ > [https://www.amazon.com/North-American-Wildlife-revised-updated/dp/0762100206/ref=sr\_1\_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1471394681&sr=1-8&refinements=p\_27%3AReader's+Digest](https://www.amazon.com/North-American-Wildlife-revised-updated/dp/0762100206/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1471394681&sr=1-8&refinements=p_27%3AReader%27s+Digest) > > I’d also recommend The Ripley’s Believe it Or Not series. Here’s a good one to start: > > _Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Encyclopedia of the Bizarre: Amazing, Strange, Inexplicable, Weird and All True!_ > [https://www.amazon.com/Ripleys-Believe-Not-Encyclopedia-Bizarre/dp/1579124828/ref=sr\_1\_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1508783451&sr=1-1&keywords=encyclopedia+of+the+bizarre](https://www.amazon.com/Ripleys-Believe-Not-Encyclopedia-Bizarre/dp/1579124828/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1508783451&sr=1-1&keywords=encyclopedia+of+the+bizarre) I liked Reader’s Digest’s articles titled I am Joe’s X (e.g., Spleen), or I am Jane’s Y (e.g., Ovaries). Not a book, per se, but a series of articles in the publication. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-other-favorite-straight-dope-type-books/821548/20 "2018-09-18T20:28:04Z")
One of me favourite books when I was a kid was Facts and Fallacies. This was separate from Fads and Fallacies but might well have ripped off its title. I’d love to find that again and have a read. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-other-favorite-straight-dope-type-books/821548.md?page=2)